Libby Drew

Yes, yes, and yes. This is a gem.

What heartwarming feedback. Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. 😁

I love my dogs, but I grew up with cats. They are special.

Glad you enjoyed it. 😊

Thank you!

Ooh, I saw this earlier this morning but just now had time to comment. Very exciting. Thank you! I actually haven't read this one myself in quite some time, so it was fun to revisit.

I suppose my pet peeve (when I beta read and edited) was to work with an author who requested feedback... but didn't truly want any. I don't expect a writer to implement every content edit I suggested. I do, however, expect them to, at least, consider those suggestions. Or pretend to consider them. There is a fine line between mechanics, art and ego. Don't ask for an editor if all you want is a cheerleader. "Said" is largely invisible to the reader. It should be your default dialogue tag, especially when there are several people speaking. "Said" allows the dialogue itself to do the heavy lifting. However, as discussed above, I eliminate it when possible. Superfluous is superfluous. 😉 I can be horrible at word/phrase repetition, especially if the segment in question was penned in one session. Depending on the day, certain words and phrases stick in my head and sneak into my writing over and over again. Time is your best friend here. Step back from completed chapters/stories for several weeks, then reread. That's when you catch these things.

Passion, ecstasy, terror, and innuendo. I wonder what the rest of the week will bring!

James Patterson writes his Alex Cross novels by alternating first and third person. Alex's POV is always in first person. Some chapters, however, are written in third person POV. His antagonists, for example, often have their own chapters, and these are always written in third person limited. It took some getting used to (at least for me), but I'm accustomed to it now and even anticipate it. I like the idea of writing short stories or vignettes to accompany a longer narrative. Do you intersperse them in the main body of work or post them separately?

Three more days of hard, unrelenting work pass before I am able to visit Billie. Miraculously, or maybe not, the grove remains undamaged from the storm. Around it, trees lay felled in clumps. The land is still flooded in places, but the gentle knoll, atop which lies Billie’s fire ring and circle of mature mangrove trees, stands undisturbed, a picture of calm in a sea of bedlam. Likewise, Billie’s small concrete house, his chickee, and even his bicycle survived the tempest. The latter

The letter Calhoun gave to Micco was one of many that Sam wrote to him that the FBI recovered from his house.

They will make an unbeatable team!

I think it's possible. That sort of depravity tends to feed on itself.

Me either. 😉

Not a shapeshifter. More of a manifestation.

All your questions will be answered soon. ☺️

Yep, he ate her. 😏 Thank you!

The Hendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston isn’t as impressive as some hospitals. Dwarfed by Naples Community and the majority of those in Miami, it still manages to pack a punch into its modest block-wide footprint, boasting medical offices, testing centers, and an emergency room. The front desk directs me to the second floor, and I walk down the long hall of the east wing to Burke’s room. There, I pause in the doorway, taken aback by my friend’s appearance. In all my years, Burke ha

That's the struggle. Grabbing and keeping the readers' interest. And that first paragraph... I tend to rewrite it about a thousand times. 😄 I kind of enjoy the middle. That's the literal roller coaster, right? If you believe in the formula of rising tension and a series of intensifying climaxes.

Ha! Sounds familiar.

100% agreed on all of this. That piece that exists after the climax... yikes. Finding that perfect pace, length, and tone for the coda can be a bitch.

Thanks. Yes, sure, it varies for me too. I have an idea of how a story will end, and that's how I choose a beginning. I do my best to start as close to the end as possible. As formulas go, it hasn't let me down yet.

The first chapter has to do some heavy lifting, no doubt about it. As far as starting a story and not knowing how it will end, I have to admit that makes me jealous. I don't need to know every detail going in, but if I don't have a very good idea of where I'm going, I find it difficult, or impossible, to start. Just a quirk of mine.

Yes, me too! As far as envisioning the beginning of a story, that is. I never have much trouble deciding where to start. Nailing just the right amount of denouement, however, and tying up loose ends... that is what i have the most trouble with.

I feel the same. I was surprised to hear that most others (on the phone call) considered the beginning the most difficult. The end... tying everything together, that can be stressful. I've actually written the last chapter of some stories first, just to give myself a landing pad, although that chapter then often changes, sometimes dramatically.